Lack of buying interest were pulled prices of Pusa-1121 rice varieties down. Availability of rice stocks has improved but the domestic demand has failed to pick up, said the traders. At the Karnal market, Pusa-1121 (steam) dropped by Rs 200 and sold at Rs 9200, while Pusa-1121 (sela) down by Rs 300 and quoted at Rs 8000 per quintal.
The uptrend in Mustard oil seems to have ended with buying support at higher rates dropping. Mustard oil prices inIndoremarket plummeted to Rs 642 per 10 kg. In the physical market, mustard seeds ruled higher at Rs 4000-4200 per quintal amid decline in arrival. According to traders, bullish trend in mustard seed prices will continue.
With the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) asking the Supreme Court to allow a regulated power loadshedding in the national capital, citing the two major power suppliers - Reliance ADAG's BSES Yamuna and Rajdhani - of not paying for the power they purchase for distribution, has intensified war of words between the two parties.
Senior advocate K K Venugopal who is representing NTPC said on Thursday that though the companies were run by one of the richest industrialists in India, they had not paid a penny since March 26 in blatant violation of apex court's orders. According to NTPC, the two BSES companies owe nearly Rs 800 crore.
"Nearly 75% of the payments received from these two firms go to Coal India Ltd from which NTPC buys coal. If the two companies do not pay, NTPC's Badarpur thermal plant will not be able to supply electricity to Delhi. Please vacate the interim order directing us to continue supplying power to Delhi. We want to start regulated cuts in power supply," said Venugopal.
Countering NTPC's stand, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi who appeared for BSES said that the companies had invested Rs 15,000 crore not in charity but in business and it must be allowed to recover its legitimate dues. He suggested a plan for recovery of the dues along with carrying cost.
The Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) also left BSES red faced when senior advocate Meet Malhotra accused to have discovered huge discrepancies in the accounts of the BSES companies and apprehended that the demand for Rs 5,200 crore might have been inflated and for which the Reliance company is asking for hike in power tariffs in the national capital.
Rohatgi said that BSES had cleared most of the dues and NTPC's demands were unjustified. The bench asked the counsel for NTPC and BSES to sort out the discrepancies in claims of payments by Monday on their own and posted the matter for further hearing for Tuesday.
According to the latest weather update by Skymet Meteorology Division in India, it is just the start of May and summer heat will further tighten its grip over Delhi wherein above 40 degrees temperatures will increase the energy consumption manifold and power cuts during those days will hit the Delhiites hard.
There will be chances of dust storm and gusty winds in Delhi during late evening on Saturday. Day temperatures will drop marginally in Delhi, making the weather a little pleasant. The weather in Mumbai will remain very warm and humid during the day while evening will be a relief due to sea breeze. Kolkata will observe marginal drop in day temperatures, with chances of rain. Bangalore and Hyderabad could witness some light rain or thundershower on Saturday.
| Cities | Maximum Temperature | Minimum Temperature | Conditions |
| Delhi | 40°C | 25°C | Partly cloudy sky, an uncomfortable day, Chances of rain/dust storm with gusty winds during evening/night. |
| Mumbai | 34°C | 26°C | Afternoon to remain humid and uncomfortable, Sea breeze to provide relief during evening and night |
| Kolkata | 36°C | 26°C | Sky will be partly cloudy, with chances of rain. |
| Chennai | 37°C | 28°C | Sky will be partly cloudy |
| Bangalore | 36°C | 24°C | Partly cloudy sky with chances of light rain |
| Hyderabad | 40°C | 27°C | Partly cloudy sky with chances of light rain or thundershowers |
Photograph by Aam422
According to the latest weather update by Skymet Meteorology Division in India, here are the weather alerts across the country for the next six hours:
Weather alert for Delhi issued at 16:10 hrs
Moderate Dust storm/thundershowers are likely at some places in Delhi/NCR in next 2-6 hours. Strong winds blowing at a speed of 40 to 70 kmph will also be witnessed during this period.
Weather alert for Haryana issued at 15:10 hrs
Light to moderate Dust storm/thundershowers are likely at a few places in Bhiwani, Fatehabad, Hisar, Jind, Kaithal and Sirsa districts in the next 2-6 hours. Rain will be accompanied by strong winds blowing at a speed of 50 to 80 kmph.
Weather alert for Tamil Nadu issued at 15:00 hrs
Light to moderate rain and thundershowers are expected at a few places in Salem and Virudhunagar districts in the next 2-6 hours.
Weather alert for Odisha issued at 15:00 hrs
In the next 2-6 hours, light to moderate rain and thundershowers are likely at few places in Gajapati, Ganjam, Koraput and Rayagada districts, with strong winds between 40 and 60 kmph.
Weather alert for Andhra Pradesh issued at 15:00 hrs
Light to moderate rain and thundershowers are likely at few places in Chittoor, East Godavari, Hyderabad, Mahbubnagar, Nalgonda and Visakhapatnam districts in the next 6 hours. Strong winds blowing at a speed of 30 to 50 kmph will also be witnessed during this time.
Weather alert for Rajasthan issued at 14:15 hrs
Light to moderate Dust storm/thundershowers are likely at some places in Alwar, Bharatpur, Jhunjhunu and Sikar districts, with strong winds between 50 kmph and 80 kmph.
Weather alert for Punjab issued at 14:15 hrs
Light to moderate Dust storm/thundershowers are likely at some places in Bathinda, Firozpur, Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Moga districts in the next 6 hours. These places will also observe strong winds blowing at a speed of 50 to 80 kmph.
Weather alert for Jharkhand issued at 14:15 hrs
Light to moderate rain and thundershowers are likely at few places in Bokaro, Dhanbad and Hazaribagh districts of Jharkhand, with strong winds between 40 and 70 kmph.
Weather alert for Himachal Pradesh issued at 14:15 hrs
Sirmaur district is likely to receive light to moderate rain and thundershowers in the next 2-6 hours, with strond winds blowing at a speed of 40 to 70 kmph.
Weather alert for West Bengal issued at 14:03 hrs
In the next 6 hours, light to moderate rain and thundershowers are likely at some places in Malda, North Dinajpur and South Dinajpur districts. Winds will be strong and blow at a speed of 50 kmph gusting at 80 kmph.
According to the latest weather update by Skymet Meteorology Division in India, Ganganagar continued to remain the hottest place in India for the second consecutive day on Thursday. Churu and Allahabad also maintained their second and third spot in the table. Hisar in Haryana made the list for the first time. Here are some of the other hottest places in India as on Thursday and their forecast trend.
| Places | State | Maximum temperature on Thursday | Forecast trend for Friday |
| Ganganagar | Rajasthan | 45.9°C | Drop |
| Churu | Rajasthan | 45.7°C | Drop |
| Allahabad | Uttar Pradesh | 45.5°C | Drop |
| Hisar | Haryana | 45°C | Same |
| Khargone | Madhya Pradesh | 44.8°C | Drop |
| Agra | Uttar Pradesh | 44.7°C | Drop |
| Wardha | Maharashtra | 44.5°C | Drop |
| Delhi(Palam) | Delhi | 44.5°C | Drop |
| Varanasi | Uttar Pradesh | 44.4°C | Drop |
Photograph by Felipe Skroski
